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| Kurdish YPJ/YPG fighters @RoniRan2 - October 29th, 2014 link |
From a letter to a friend
Venice - January 10th, 2015
In October 2014 I got in touch via Twitter with a person fighting in Kobane, @RoniRan2. During the day she fought ISIS, at night she posted images of young Amazons transmiting strength, confidence, resolution and such a happiness as our young people seldom know.
Via DM, she wrote to me loving words as soon as we got in touch. When I invited her to come to Venice, she answered inviting me in Kobane.
I wrote a poem, Message of Love from Kobane link.
From our very first connection, I knew in my heart that @RoniRan2 was a young woman, perhaps also because of her profile image. A few days later, a Kurdish woman living in Stuttgart wrote to me that Roni is a male name in Kobane. But later on, a Kurdish friend explained to me that in Kurdish ROHANI means LIGHT and it is indeed a FEMALE name: it is often shortened in RONI.
From our very first connection, I knew in my heart that @RoniRan2 was a young woman, perhaps also because of her profile image. A few days later, a Kurdish woman living in Stuttgart wrote to me that Roni is a male name in Kobane. But later on, a Kurdish friend explained to me that in Kurdish ROHANI means LIGHT and it is indeed a FEMALE name: it is often shortened in RONI.
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| @RoniRan2 account image link |
On October 23rd, 2014 @RoniRan2 tweeted a picture of a white cat whose right eye was blue, whereas its left eye was green: "Today in Kobane" link
That was the first time she tweeted a picture with an animal as the only subject: it was clear that the cat had caught her attention.
That was the first time she tweeted a picture with an animal as the only subject: it was clear that the cat had caught her attention.
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| Today in Kobane @RoniRan2 - October 23rd, 2014 link |
Roni's picture of the cat surprised me because a few weeks before, on September 13th, while walking in Venice nearby the Arsenal, my attention was caught by a cat with the same features, which are quite rare. It was probably a Van cat (Van Kedisi) or Turkish Angora with a chalky white coat, odd-eyed: I could imagine its ancestors getting off a ship at the time of Crusades.
I tweeted my picture back to @RoniRan2 link
@RoniRan2 didn't read my tweet - I think she didn't know the function Notifications - so a few days later I sent my picture via DM.
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| Venice, September 13th 2014 - photo by Maristella Tagliaferro |
@RoniRan2 didn't read my tweet - I think she didn't know the function Notifications - so a few days later I sent my picture via DM.
@RoniRan2 answered:
"Does the same :)"
"so sweet :)"
"You know what? you're a very good woman <3 <3 <3
Much love to you <3 ;)"
The message that caught my greatest attention arrived during the night between October 19th and 20th, 2014. Those were days of violent crashes, not only in Kobane. For the first time, @RoniRan2 tweeted also pictures of Yezidis.
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| "Does the same :)" @RoniRan2, October 26th 2014 |
I wrote via DM:
"Happy to read from you, take care, much love from Venezia <3"
@RoniRan2 anwered:
"I love you and Venice. <3 One day, they'll see. I am hopeful. <3"
I wished good night writing: "I'm hopeful too. Much love to you <3" and switched to Facebook. I was feeling very happy to know that she was fine, and very thankful for her loving words which were almost incredible considering she was writing to a never-met person from a city under siege.
I had not understood, not yet ...
Unluckily, as soon as I switched to Facebook, I read a piece of news that made me feel very depressed: I felt really very bad inside.
I felt alone, very very alone.
That pain would not go away and I could not fall asleep.
I felt I must have a last glance at Twitter before switching my iPad off.
Strangely enough, there was a new DM from @RoniRan2 waiting for me:
"Why are not happy?"
She had sent it about two or three minutes after I read the piece of news that made me feel bad. I could never imagine - not in those moments when I had the greatest proofs of telepathy and empathy - that one night, from a city under siege, where she saw friends and perhaps relatives fall daily, while she was defending her home, her very life, somebody whom I had never met would feel that I was going through a moment of intense unhappiness, and would care to ask me "why?"
It would be too complicated, even ridiculous for me to explain via DM why I felt unhappy to somebody living among ruins, bullets, bombs.
So I lied by writing:
"I'm happy!"
but then I added sincere words:
"I want to meet you when you defeat the enemy <3 <3 <3 :)"
@RoniRan2 answered:
"I am glad :) :) :) :) :) "
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| "Why are not happy?" @RoniRan2 - October 20th, 2014 |
On the following days I found out that my sorrow of that night was for a false reason. Or perhaps the piece of news I had read in Facebook was true, but later on things changed so there was no reason for me to suffer. I felt an echo inside, Roni Ran's question:
"Why are not happy?"
She started tweeting also images of wounded fighters, and the odd-eyed white cat appeared. But she continued to tweet mostly images of splendid Amazons.
Via DM Roni Ran wrote to me some news from inside Kobane. Once she denied Kurdish propaganda by confirming the death of Rehana, a very young Amazon whose image had been seen all over the world. In the DM about Rehana, she wrote also the word "sorry": perhaps she was apologizing because she knew the news would make me sad, or perhaps she meant she was sad. Or perhaps that word had both meanings.
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| "I know he died. Sorry :(" @RoniRan2 - October 29th, 2014 |
Roni sent me several DMs about my poem. She wrote poetry for me, but never posted it because of a feeling that a translation in English would "distort the meaning". She asked me to write more poems. She wrote about her desire to read Italian. Roni's last DM on poetry is a wonderful invitation:
"Write poetry. I read so I can understand. :) <3 <3 <3"
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| "Write poetry. I read so I can understand. :) <3 <3 <3" @RoniRan2 - October 29th, 2014 |
@RoniRan2 Twitter account is stuck since October 31st, 2014. On that evening Roni tweeted more images with a new hastag,
#1NovemberWorldKobaneDay.
Roni sent me two DMs:
"Today was a day of violent clashes. Additional forces arrived.After that it gets better. <3 <3 <3"
and
"Happy. :) ;) "
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| Last DM from @RoniRan2 "Happy. :) ;)" October 31st, 2014 |
Some people in Europe may think about Kobane after the last events in France: 20 people assassinated, 12 of which at Charlie Hebdo's. Now we Europeans know that we can be killed by ISIS terrorists in our own homes.
Last December I told to myself that the last lines in my poem were wrong. Tonight I understood why I wrote them:
In this crumbling
Western World,
Western World,
I feel powerless,
lost, incapable:
Roni Ran
is right,
my home,
our home
is in Kobane.
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| "#SOS_SINJAR #SaveYazidis #DefendInternational #SavaKobane YPG/PKK YPJ fighters"@RoniRan2 - October 20th, 2014 link |
MORE LINKS
20141013
Messaggio d'Amore da Kobane link
20141013
Message of Love from Kobane link
20150110
I read my poem
Messaggio d'Amore da Kobane at the poets' event M'EDITARE 2015 - Singolari Opere Comuni link
20150126
"Why are not happy?" "Perché non sei felice?" #Kobane #Venezia link
20151117
#Paris #Kobane #Venice - all we need is Freedom and Peace link
20150126
"Why are not happy?" "Perché non sei felice?" #Kobane #Venezia link
20151117
#Paris #Kobane #Venice - all we need is Freedom and Peace link
20150125
Bea Ary in Facebook link
20150126
Bea Ary in Facebook link
20150130
Dentro Kobanê link
20150202
Peter Clifford Online
KOBANE UPDATE 49: ISLAMIC STATE OFFICIALLY ADMIT DEFEAT IN KOBANE – “THERE WAS NO PLACE TO HIDE ANYMORE” – AS YPG “MOP-UP”:
TIMELINE – 2nd FEBRUARY 2015 14.08 GMT: link
"Lastly, on Kobane, I received this morning this delightful poetic tribute to the inspiring female warriors of the YPJ, a 'Message of Love', originally published last October by @MSTagliaferro, HERE: link"
20150130
Dentro Kobanê link
20150202
Peter Clifford Online
KOBANE UPDATE 49: ISLAMIC STATE OFFICIALLY ADMIT DEFEAT IN KOBANE – “THERE WAS NO PLACE TO HIDE ANYMORE” – AS YPG “MOP-UP”:
TIMELINE – 2nd FEBRUARY 2015 14.08 GMT: link
"Lastly, on Kobane, I received this morning this delightful poetic tribute to the inspiring female warriors of the YPJ, a 'Message of Love', originally published last October by @MSTagliaferro, HERE: link"
20151112
New York Review of Books, "The Syrian Kurds are Winning" by Jonathan Steele link
Il Post, "Le foto delle combattenti del Rojava" reportage by John Moore link
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| "I love you :) <3 <3" @RoniRan2 - October 13th, 2014 |
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| "Yes. When we defeat the enemy" @RoniRan2 - October 13th, 2014 |
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| October 14th, 2014 - tweet by @TaninKendal https://twitter.com/taninkendal/status/522069949687529472 |
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| I sent Roni via DM Tanin's letter October 14th, 2014 |
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| "I am sorry for the late reply to your message ..." @RoniRan2 - October 16th, 2014 |
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| "I've even wrote poetry. I was very happy. <3 <3 <3" @RoniRan2 - October 16th, 2014 |
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